Dr. Murray Feingold: Call the doctor - or call Dad

Wednesday

May 21, 2014 at 11:47 AMMay 21, 2014 at 11:47 AM

By Dr. Murray FeingoldMore Content Now

When it comes to the medical care of members of their own families, some doctors get very involved, others do not. By getting very involved, I mean they actually provide the medical care of a family member. This is not the recommended approach. Except for treating some minor maladies of family members, I mainly offer advice and tell them to call their doctor.

I have given up giving medical advice to my wife because she seldom follows it.

My children, especially when they were younger, rarely asked me any medical questions because they looked at me more as a daddy than a doctor. However, all of this changed when they became parents - now there are many questions.

For a variety of reasons, providing medical advice concerning your grandchildren is not always easy. You frequently canít personally examine the child because he or she is located in another state. Therefore, the medical information, which may or may not be totally accurate, is provided via the telephone.

Another drawback, you may think more like a grandfather than a physician, and this may result in over-diagnosing, such as a routine headache being a brain tumor. Also, you are too emotionally involved.

An example of this was when my granddaughter Molly was born. She was born in a quaint but up-to-date hospital in New Hampshire. It was very folksy and had a friendly environment (if you consider allowing the family dog to visit the patient as friendly).

My wife and I arrived at the hospital two hours after Molly was delivered. I was told that mother and child were resting comfortably in room 212, so off we went to see our newest grandchild. But before I tell you what greeted us in room 212, let me relate a little background history.

In my earlier days as a doctor, when I entered the newborn nursery to see a baby, I was adorned in a hospital gown, a surgical cap and face mask and wore sterile gloves. Although subsequent research has shown that such precautions are unnecessary, I continue to wear a hospital gown and face mask when seeing newborns.

As we approached room 212, I heard voices, and the closer we got, the louder the clamor. When we arrived, I discovered the source of these voices. The entire room was filled wall to wall with people; it seemed as if perhaps the entire population of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, was present in the room.

In the center of all of this din and commotion was my 2-hour-old granddaughter, being passed from one potentially infectious person to another. I envisioned every pathogenic bacteria and virus that called New Hampshire home attacking my unsuspecting newborn granddaughter.

But fortunately this did not take place, and Molly, and her grandfather, survived this onslaught of visitors.

When it comes to the health of family members, being a doctor does have its benefits. But there is a flip side, especially when it involves grandchildren and the physician is more of a grandfather than a doctor.

Massachusetts-based Dr. Murray Feingold is the physician in chief of The Feingold Center for Children, medical editor of WBZ-TV and WBZ radio, and president of the Genesis Fund. The Genesis Fund is a nonprofit organization that funds the care of children born with birth defects, mental retardation and genetic diseases.

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